


Masked Heights

by BoBoK



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Alternate Universe - High-Rise Invasion, Angst, Death, F/M, Fear, Fluff and Angst, God Complex, Good and Evil, Hope vs. Despair, Near Death Experiences, Pain, Psychological Drama, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-18
Updated: 2021-03-23
Packaged: 2021-03-27 02:41:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 13,106
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30115938
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BoBoK/pseuds/BoBoK
Summary: Kill or Be Killed.That’s the way this world works, there isn’t anywhere to run.Fight, for flight isn’t an option.Stranded atop the towering skyscrapers of an unknown city, Makoto Niijima finds herself battling not only her own panic, confusion, and fear. But the hunters known as ‘Masks’ who will stop at nothing to bring death and despair among those that are trapped in this world.How does one escape? Who is friendly and who isn’t? Is there more to this realm? What is the point of all of this?All of which, are questions that dominate Makoto’s mind as she tries to break herself free from this cruel, twisted battlefield of despair.
Relationships: Amamiya Ren/Niijima Makoto, Kurusu Akira/Niijima Makoto
Comments: 11
Kudos: 25





	1. A Strange New World

**_Day One_ **

The girl found herself looking up at a blue sky, dizzy and confused. She rubbed her head and her eyes as she blinked a few times, waiting until the clouds stopped spinning and she could actually sit up without vomiting. Sick to her stomach, she slowly raised herself up to a sitting position and she looked around, trying to analyze her surroundings. 

She was on top of a skyscraper.

She stood up slowly and took a deep breath, panic beginning to manifest within her. Her breathing picked up as her head shot from left to right, eyeing down elongated rope bridges connecting each of the skyscrapers to one another. 

_ ‘Okay! Think! Think! Think’  _

She began to focus herself back on what was reality and what she had just experienced.

_ ‘My name is Makoto Niijima, I’m a third-year student at Shujin Academy, I was in class when I suddenly got dizzy and woke up here… Was I kidnapped? Drugged?’  _

Her mind quickly began to wander as she brought a loose knuckle up to her chin. 

_ ‘What is this place? I’ve never seen a city like this… Where is everyone? What is happening!?’ _

Suddenly, an ear piercing shriek interrupted Makoto’s thoughts and she heard a loud thud, as if a sledgehammer had just crushed several cinder blocks to powder.

Makoto, alerted and suddenly on guard, sprinted towards the sound of the scream and she leaned looked across the way, spotting a man in mask looking over the edge of the building. Makoto looked down as well and saw the mangled corpse of  _ something  _ on the sidewalk on the empty street below. 

“H-Hello!?” Makoto cried out to the masked figure, the figure slowly looking up at her.

From the looks of it, the person was male and stood at around one-hundred and eighty centimeters. He had broad shoulders and was dressed in a pair of black jeans and a red hoodie. 

Instead of responding, the masked hoodie man just simply stared at Makoto, tilting his head slightly as he brandished a knife. 

Makoto’s eyes widened as she saw the blade and slowly backed away from the fenced off edge, staring intently at the hooded man.

In an instant, the figure dashed towards the rope bridge that connected the two of them’s buildings. 

Makoto yelped as she turned and began towards a rope bridge on the opposite side of the skyscraper, turning her head and seeing how the masked man had already begun to gain on her. 

She screamed as she ran onto the rope bridge, the wobbliness and unease of the structure making her lose her balance and nearly fly off of the edge. Once Makoto had regained her balance, she had come up with a plan—not that she was sure it’d work but it was certainly better than running. 

Makoto nearly reached the end of the bridge but stopped and turned around, looking as the masked figure continued to sprint onto the bridge at full speed. She waited patiently, grabbing tightly onto each rope on either side of her, her eyes narrowing as she let him grow closer to the half-way point.

As he reached the point, she yelled once again and jerked her whole body to the side, throwing the bridge off-balance, which caused a ripple to fire through the bridge’s length, the wave tripping the masked man. 

He slipped and fell, his hand catching tightly onto one of the support beams of the bridge.

Makoto approached the masked man and got a closer look, noticing the details of the mask.

It was all white and had oval-shaped eyes, blacked out by the shadows and thickness of the mask, and along with the mask there was also a wide, rounded smile that was also blacked out. 

As far as Makoto could tell, there wasn’t an ounce of struggle, emotion, or despair in the hooded figure as he hung on for his life, a one-hundred story fall awaiting him below. 

Makoto reached out her hand and grabbed the arm of the masked man, slowly beginning to pull him up. She didn’t want him to die—especially since she hadn’t talked to him and she had a million questions firing through her head.

“S-Sir! What is goi-“

Before Makoto could even finish her sentence, the man slashed upwards towards her, the blade slicing just shy of her neck and taking a few tufts of her chestnut brown hair with it. Her eyes widened and in instinct, she let go and backed away, the hooded masked figure plunging down until a loud smash was heard. 

Makoto caught her breath and sighed heavily as she clung onto the rope behind her, looking over the edge before clenching her eyes and shaking her head as she went towards the opposite end of the bridge. She finally was able to catch a good breath as her feet were on flat ground, her eyes watering slightly as she looked at her hands.  _ Did she just condemn a man to his death? _

Before she could come up with another answer, a figure circled the corner and looked at her. It was also wearing a mask.

Makoto jumped up to her feet in an instant, ready to bolt. Then, she noticed it’s face was different—instead of a smile it was a look of indifference. Emotionless.

It was carrying a blue backpack and it approached her, dropping it at her feet and turning around, beginning to walk away.

“Wait!” Makoto called out.

It stopped and turned around. 

“Where am I? What is this place? Who are you..?” A million questions fired away as Makoto’s brain nearly exploded at the sudden information overload in the past five minutes.

“Your job is to become closer to God.” Was all it responded with before turning around. “Kill or be killed. Survive. You will become closer.” 

After that, it walked back around the corner it came from and immediately out of Makoto’s sight. 

Flabbergasted, Makoto stood there silently, staring down at the backpack.

_ ‘Kill or be killed? Survive?’  _

Those were simple enough instructions for her to follow—but… Becoming closer to God? What did that even mean?

Makoto sighed and shook her head as she bent down and grabbed the backpack, unzipping it and looking through it, noticing rations and supplies. There was gauze, rubbing alcohol, food, water, and a large revolver. 

Her eyes widened as she grabbed the pistol, spinning the chamber slowly as she held it in a trembling hand… This was her key to survival, she knew it.   
  


* * *

He took a deep breath as he looked through the scope.

_ ‘Despair! Suicide! Kill! Kill! Suicide! Despair!’ _

A mechanical voice repeated in his head as he took aim at what looked like a young man, his sights trained directly on the man’s leg. 

**_KPEW!_ **

The bullet found it’s target in the man’s leg and he screamed, his head searching frantically around for where the bullet could’ve came from. He cocked back the bolt of his Winchester Model 70 and fired another round, this one landing in the man’s other leg. 

The man cried in agony once more and began to crawl, towards a bright green  _ EXIT  _ sign that led nowhere except off of the side of the skyscraper. He watched intently through the scope as the man crawled towards the edge, pulling himself off and plunging himself to his death, a loud slam erupting through the air as he slammed against the concrete below. 

He hummed and cocked his bolt back one more time, swinging his rifle over his shoulder as he began to walk. His eyes trained over all of the rooftops, searching for his next target. 

He ran a gloved hand through his unkempt black hair and sighed as he slipped his black Breton hat back on his head, his black long jacket being blown behind him in the breeze of the wind. He took a toothpick out of his pocket and slipped it through the mask’s mouth shape and bit down on it. 

* * *

  
As Makoto continued her journey, she found that it was a thankfully peaceful trek. She hadn’t found any people, but also no one wearing any masks. Makoto wondered—

_ ‘Are there even people here?’ _

Makoto had gotten so caught up in her thoughts that she hadn’t noticed the white box in front of her, which she tripped over. 

As she hit the ground, she immediately drew her revolver and looked around, noticing that no one was near her. She sighed and sat up, rubbing her head as she looked at the box.

Makoto’s curiosity got the better of her and she opened the box, revealing a mask inside. However—unlike the previous two she had seen. This one didn’t have a mouth. Just two eyes. 

Makoto swung the backpack off of her shoulder and stuffed the mask in it, alongside some food and water and her medical supplies.

Zipping it up and standing up, Makoto was ready to continue her journey, unaware of what lay before her.

_ What is this place? _

_ Were there others like her? People? _

_ Will she be able to trust them? _

  
  



	2. Closer to God

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Makoto attempts to find rest, but she is being stalked by a rifle carrying mask.
> 
> In a close encounter, she begins to learn more about the realm and the masks.

**_Day 1_ **

The sun was just beginning to dip over the skyline, an orange and pink glow illuminating the skyscrapers. It was a peaceful sight, if not for the screams of those who were being tormented by the masks and the occasional sound of a gunshot. 

Makoto Niijima was walking her way across a lengthy bridge to make it to a seemingly important building, when a helicopter flew directly over her, the force of the air pushed by the propellers nearly throwing her off the side of the bridge. She yelped as she clung onto the rope of the swaying bridge, staring down the long drop beneath her. 

She took a deep breath as she regained her composure and took a look at the helicopter flying away, her eyes fixating on the craft. It was the first sign of life outside of the Masks that Makoto had encountered.

As Makoto finished her trek across the bridge, she stopped for a moment as she felt a chill run down her spine. It felt like she was being watched, stalked, even. She turned around and looked around, the corner of her eye catching a flash of a light on a skyscraper that was a good distance away. In reaction, she quickly took cover and looked at it intently, debating whether it was a sign of life or maybe just her eyes playing tricks. Soon after she took cover, the light disappeared and she couldn’t see any other signs of life after that.

It was beginning to grow dark, the sun dipping beneath the horizon, plunging the city of towers into the dimly lit moonlight. 

Makoto sighed heavily as her eyelids began to droop. She needed to find a safe place to sleep, somewhere not in the open and somewhere she wouldn’t catch a cold. 

She entered the roof entrance of the building she was currently on, walking down a flight of stairs into a set of wide and long hallways with doors attached. Turning the knob of the first door she could see, she walked into a completely empty room. But it was still a room that she had access too and relative safety in. 

Her shoulders slumped as she set the backpack down, sighing heavily as she sat against the wall and closed her eyes. 

_ ‘Too… tired to think of anymore questions.’  _

Her body ached, it was sore and exhausted from walking all day long in the sun, she was also mentally exhausted since her guard was up the entire day. Her instincts on a hair-trigger and all of her five senses completely and utterly exasperated for all of their use. 

While Makoto knew she was in safety, she still had the feeling that she was being stalked like prey. Maybe that was just the feeling of this world, She didn’t understand anything, but she didn’t need to as her eyelids finally gave way and she plunged herself into sleep.

* * *

  
  


He stepped out of the shower, grabbing the mask he left on the countertop and slipping it over his face as he got dressed.

Clad in a pair of black dress pants, a black collared shirt, a black vest, a red tie, and a black overcoat, the Mask slipped on his black breton and grabbed his rifle, swinging it over his shoulder as he walked out of the bathroom into a furnishless room. He dug into his pockets and grabbed a pair of black leather gloves, slipping them over his hands as he exited the room and into a hallway.

  
Once he reached the top of the staircase, he swung open the door and looked out at the dimly lit sky, it was soon to grow dark. He walked to the edge of the building and he squinted, seeing a figure walking across a rope bridge. He decided to take advantage of the small amount of light that was left from the sun and looked through his scope, eyeing down a girl dressed in a black, white, and red school uniform. She had a short, brunette bobcut with a braided headband across the crown of her head. 

He held his breath and his finger hovered the trigger until he noticed her look directly at him, her crimson colored eyes making him hesitate as if she was staring directly at him. 

_ ‘Goddamn scope-glare.’ _

“Tch…” He gritted his teeth, his finger readying itself on the trigger again as he aimed straight for her chest, until she ran behind cover and peeked out one final time to shoot him a glare. He brought his head up from the scope and lowered his rifle. He swung his rifle over his shoulder and turned, beginning to walk off as he grabbed a toothpick out of his pocket, sticking it in his mouth and chewing on it. 

He knew where she was, he knew that she would soon be growing tired based off of the tired look in her eyes, he knew she’d need to rest soon. She’d most likely rest in that building. 

Over the next two hours, he made his way towards that building, solely on the shouts that were in his head.

_ ‘Kill! Despair! Suicide! Kill! Kill!’ _

He walked slowly, chewing on the toothpick as he finally found himself crossing the same bridge that she was crossing when he first saw her. As he made it onto the building, he looked for the roof exit door and entered it, walking down the stairs towards the hallway. He heard rustling and banging in the first room and he opened the door slowly, his rifle trained on the doorway.

* * *

  
  


Makoto had only gotten about two hours of rest before she was woken up by a sudden jangling of the door. She quickly scrambled to her feet and grabbed her revolver, training it on the door as she stared intently at it. Suddenly, the door burst open and shut as a man bursted into the room. However, Makoto hesitated as he she could see his face.

He wasn’t wearing a mask.

She didn’t shoot and her eyes widened as she felt the shoulder of the man slam into her stomach, sending her sprawling back onto the ground, her gun clattering to the ground. The man seemed to be panting heavily and suddenly, Makoto felt a feeling of cold steel against her throat. 

“A…. A girl!” The man said in a manic voice. He was breathing heavily, spit slowly dripping out the sides of his mouth as he loomed over her. 

Makoto had no clue what was going to happen, but she attempted to scream and kick as she felt his other hand cover her mouth, the blade still to her throat. Her legs kicked and slammed against the floor as she struggled against the man.

**_KPEW!_ **

An ear-piercingly loud rifle gunshot stunned Makoto, her eyes clenching shut at the sheer volume of the sudden sound. Her ears were ringing as she opened up her eyes and she saw blood spurting out from the man’s forehead as he slumped to his side, his body flopping off of her’s.

Makoto trained her look now to the one who fired the bullet, a masked man with a cap and a long-coat covering dapper clothing beneath. Her eyes widened as he cocked the bolt of his gun and trained it towards her, she quickly rushed to grab her revolver, but his reactions were too fast and he pulled the trigger, the gun being shot away from her. 

**_CHKCHK_ **

He loaded another round into the chamber as she scrambled towards her backpack instead, digging into her backpack and grabbed the faceless mask, slamming it onto her face, the green code on the interior of her mask beginning to imprint itself into her brain. 

She felt herself enter a sort of astral realm, where there was no physical object aside from her. She then heard her voice echo behind her. 

Makoto swung around and looked at the masked version of herself, who was now speaking to her.

_ “It appears you have decided to become closer to God.” _

“W-What?!” She gasped as she stepped back from herself. 

_ “The mask you put on is the mask that puts you into the competition to become closer to God of this universe. You have allowed yourself access to several abilities that will aid you upon your journey of becoming one with god.”  _

Makoto fell silent for a short time. “Abilities?” She asked.

_ “Yes. It seems your current situation has allowed you to take control of a Mask since you connect with its wavelength in a spectacular fashion. However, the rest of your abilities are locked deep within you conscious and it will be up to you to pull them out.”  _

“W-Who are you?” Makoto asked.

_ “I am a program within the masks, one that helps those become closer to God. You may call me Johanna” _

Makoto repeated the name to herself. “Johanna, huh? What’s next?” 

_ “I will now initiate the mask-destruction protocol.” _

Makoto nodded slowly before she felt herself get transported again and this time, she was now staring down the barrel of a sniper rifle. 

* * *

  
  


As he pushed the door open, he found his eyes training on a man who was facing away from him and he quickly trained his sights on the back of the man’s head, pulling the trigger. The window the man was facing becoming soaked and covered in blood as he slumped over. 

He was rather shocked to find that there was another person there as well, as he noticed her, he quickly loaded another round into his rifle with the bolt. Training it on her until he recognized she was going for the gun. He turned his weight and shot at the revolver laying on the ground, the gun being sent across the room.

_ ‘Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill!’ _

He loaded another round and trained it onto her, until she grabbed the mask and put it on her face. In shock he hesitated and stared at her, keeping his gun completely trained on her.

_ ‘Stop! Do not fire!’  _

The voice in his head ordered.

_ ‘What!? Why not?’  _

He asked in his head.

_ ‘She has become closer to God.’  _

The masked figure kept his gun trained on her, holding the rifle dangerously close to her face with his finger on the trigger. 

_ ‘Closer to God?’ _

Suddenly, her mask shattered into a plethora of pieces and as she locked eyes with him, suddenly he felt all urge to kill disappear completely inside of him. However, that didn’t stop what came next.

“Kya!” He heard the girl shout as he could recognize out of the corner of his eye, her foot was coming right towards his face. But he didn’t react based off of strict command of the mask as her foot connected with the side of his head and he spun around, slamming his face into the doorframe and falling unconscious. 

* * *

  
  


Makoto took a deep breath as she watched him fall down unconscious. She bent down and rolled the masked man onto his back, noticing a large crack that was across the bridge of the nose (if the masks were to have a nose) and through the eye hole. 

She took a deep breath and looked into the hallway before slipping back into the room, grabbing her backpack and revolver, grabbing his rifle and swinging it over her shoulder. 

_ ‘Why didn’t he shoot?’  _

She asked herself as she left the room, turning around and staring at his unconscious body.

_ ‘’”It seems your current situation has allowed you to take control of a Mask since you connect with its wavelength in a spectacular fashion.”’ _

What Johanna had said was repeated in her mind and she looked back at the rifle he was carrying that was now slung over her shoulder and she sighed tiredly. She swung open another one of the doors and looked inside, noticing a room of traditional Japanese style. 

She looked back and grabbed the masked man, dragging him towards the room and once she had gotten him inside, she propped him up against the wall in a sitting position and turned around, shutting the door and locking the deadbolt lock. 

She turned around and sat from across the room of the masked man, taking notice to his features, at least those that she could see.

He had unkempt, frizzy black hair, what appeared to be slim and a lithe build underneath the overcoat. He had broad shoulders and slim features that didn’t appear to match his strength, which led Makoto to the assumption that the masks gave these people spectacular abilities. 

She sighed heavily and clicked her tongue as she shook her head, leaning her head back on the wall, staring at him with a violent intensity, waiting for him to wake up. 


	3. A New Ally?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Makoto Niijima confronts the masked man after he finally wakes up.

**_Day 2_ **

His vision was hazy and dizzy as he woke up, blinking a few times before he fully came to. He looked around the room, his head throbbing in pain as he let out a quiet and audibly grunt. He shuffled in his seat and looked forward, seeing the brunette girl with his rifle laid in her lap. His eyes widened as he stared at her.

_ ‘What is happening?’  _

He wasn’t receiving any commands from the mask. When usually if he were to see a human, it would be screaming  _ ‘Kill! Suicide! Despair!’  _ and the likes, but it was actually silent for the first time. 

He stood up slowly and brushed himself off, raising a hand to his head as his eyes narrowed from the throbbing migraine he now had. Turns out the girl had a whopping roundhouse since he was knocked unconscious in one blow by it.

He stumbled slightly with his first few steps but was able to straighten himself out as he got closer to her, his thoughts going mad for the first time ever since… Well, as far as he could remember. The only thing he could remember was how he had lost his memories and that he was under the control of the mask. Well… Now he was actually under the control of  _ this  _ girl. 

His head was busy as he slowly reached forward, trying to grab his rifle until he felt the cool barrel of a revolver against his chin. His eyes widened and he slowly raised his hands. 

“What are you doing?” The girl asked as she opened her eyes and looked up at him. The red in her iris piercing his dull, grey eyes. That was what Makoto had noticed, she could actually see his eyes unlike the past few Masks she had run into. That had to mean something. “What’s your name?” 

He stood up straight, keeping his hands up at shoulder height as he took a step back and shrugged. He didn’t know.

Makoto’s eyes narrowed as she slowly climbed to her feet, eyeing him up and down like she was some sort of predator eyeing up her next meal. She was clearly in a very hostile state as she slowly approached him, her gun trained on him. “Do you speak?”

The masked man shrugged again.

“Can you take the mask off?” She asked, tilting her head slightly as she pulled the hammer back on the revolver, a loud click eliciting from the gun.

He audibly gulped and nodded, his hands slowly going behind his head to unbuckle a pair of the buckles that held the mask to his face. As he slowly removed it, Makoto could finally see the man’s face. Or rather, the boy’s face.

He didn’t look very old, possibly eighteen. He looked around her age, if not younger and she was taken aback by this revelation. She gulped and kept the gun trained on him. “How old are you?”

The boy shrugged, dropping his mask to the ground as he let out an audible sigh. 

“Try speaking.” She demanded, assuming that the control she had worked in that way. She could command and he would do.

No response.

“Say something!” Makoto ordered again.

There was no audible response but she could see his eye twitch as his eyelids lowered to an annoyed look.

“If you don’t speak up, I will shoot you here and now.” She warned, taking aim. “I need to know I can trust you.”

He didn’t respond, he simply stared at her in annoyance as he bent down, grabbing the mask off of the floor and slipping it over his face.

“Five” 

He began to adjust the straps so the mask fit accordingly on his mask. 

“Four!”

He adjusted the cuffs of his jacket and his gloves, practically ignoring her countdown.

“Three!”

He fixed the lapels of his jacket and adjusted his cap on top of his head before looking at her.

“Two!-”

“Give me my rifle.” He said, his voice a confident, soft, tenor ranged hum. “I can’t help you without a weapon.” The mask repeated.

“So you do speak.” Makoto hummed, a curious stare on her face as she looked at him.

“Only when I’m annoyed.” He huffed out, tailed by a sigh of clear annoyance. 

“Well. I need to eat and get some sleep.” Makoto said, a frown on her face. “How about you, do you eat?” She asked, tilting her head to the side as she lowered her revolver, beginning to sit back against the wall. 

“Mm.” He hummed with a nod.

“Then we eat. You’re no good to me if you starve to death.”

He nodded once again, walking over to her and taking a seat on the opposite side of the backpack, slipping his hat off of his head, unbuckling the mask and dropping it to his side once again. 

Makoto dug into the bag first, grabbing a bag of some sort of snack that she had absolutely no clue what was. “Help yourself to whatever, Akira.” 

He turned his head and looked at her, his eyes narrowed in confusion as he blinked a few times. “What?” 

“You look like an Akira to me. And if I can’t remember your name, I’m going to call you Akira.” Makoto suggested.

“Call me Ren.” He said bluntly.   
  


“Oh?” She turned and looked at him. “Remember your name now?” 

“It’s just something I hear in my head over and over again, a woman’s voice calling out ‘Ren.’” He said with a shrug.

“Okay, Ren.” She said with a sigh as she opened the bag and grabbed out a circular shaped, breaded object. She took a bite into it and noticed it was stuffed with peanut butter and jelly. 

Ren nodded and looked into the bag, grabbing out a bag that contained a few rice cakes within it. He opened it up and began to nibble on them. 

“So. Do you know what this place is?” She asked, looking over at him.

He looked back towards her with a shake of his head. “All I know is that this isn’t the world we know. We’re sort of in a different reality.” He took another bite.

“What’s with the masks?” She asked. “I’ve had two try to kill me, you included. One gave me this bag and this mask told me I was ‘closer to God’.” 

Ren shrugged again. “Majority of the masks’ jobs are to hunt down humans and drive them to the point of suicide. If they recognize that that isn’t an option, they will kill the human.” 

Makoto blinked a few times in astonishment. “So… They’re hunters?” She asked.

Ren nodded.

“So why did you put on the mask?” She asked, her eyes narrowing as she spoke in an accusatory tone. 

“I… Don’t remember.” He huffed out. “I don’t remember anything, really.” 

Makoto huffed out an exasperated sigh and shook her head as she finished her snack, leaving the wrapper on the floor as she leaned over, using the back as a makeshift pillow. 

Ren turned and noticed she was going to fall asleep any second, with that knowledge, he tucked the remaining rice cakes back into the packaging and rested them down beside the backpack. He reached down and grabbed the mask and his hat, slipping the mask over his face and adjusting it to fit snugly before he slid his hat on his head. 

After he got his attire all set up, he walked over and grabbed his rifle from the ground and stood up, slinging it over his shoulder. “I’ll be on the rooftop.” 

Makoto hummed and shook her head. “You may not kill unless it is in self-defense. Do not drive human’s to despair, either.” She grumbled. 

Ren looked at her, his eyes narrowing before he turned back around and exited the room, closing the door behind him. As the door shut, he leaned back against it and let out a trembling breath. “What… the… hell… happened?” He asked himself as he tried to remember the overload of information that was going through his head.

Visions, images, flashbacks all came back in unsynchronized orders and convoluted timelines, his headache was slamming even harder than it did before. He gasped for air as it felt as if everything in the world was beginning to collapse around him. The walls in the hallway began to close in on him, the door behind him seemingly locked. The roof began to slowly shrink. He clutched the rifle in his hands and began to take deep and rapid breaths trying to catch his breath as he looked at the room beginning to shut in on him

Suddenly, there was a horrible jolt of what felt like electricity shoot through his head and he fell down to his knees, looking around the room, seeing it return to its normal state.

_ ‘Episode of panic has been suppressed. Further complications will lead to hibernation and destruction of the host’s body. Please do not continue to exert yourself.’  _

The mechanized voice in his head had practically shocked the anxiety attack out of him. But that only broke him even further as he slowly sat himself against the doorway of the room the girl was staying in.

“H-Ha…” He huffed out. “I didn’t even… get her name.” He said as he held the gun in his lap, his legs outstretched in front of him as he sat and waited until she was awake. 


	4. The Helicopter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Makoto learns how she can escape the realm of skyscrapers and sets out on her journey.

**_Day 2_ **

Makoto’s eyes slowly opened and she blinked a few times before her vision came to. She was startled to see that she was in the exact same place she fell asleep in.

_ ‘So it wasn’t a nightmare…’ _

No. This was no nightmare at all—as a matter of fact. This was her reality, now. And not one that she knew how to escape or even how to survive. Of course it was kill or be killed but… it most certainly wasn’t a place of peace, happiness, love, education. 

Ren stepped back into the room, his rifle slung over his shoulder. He looked over towards Makoto, who physically jumped and yelped at the sight of him as she drew her pistol on him. It took a moment for her to realize that it was him and that the masked man hunting her was indeed now her slave… 

_ Slave? _

Slave felt wrong. Ally who followed her every command definitely sounded better.

“S-Sorry. Still getting accustomed to this whole realm.” Makoto said as she holstered her pistol at her hip. “Do you really have to keep the mask on at all times?”

Ren nodded and said nothing else.

“Oh…..kay?”

There was a moment of awkward silence and tension between the two of them, Makoto’s hand hovering over the handle of her revolver.

“For christ’s sake just because I don’t talk doesn’t mean I’m trying to murder you.” Ren huffed out as he crossed his arms. 

“I don’t know! I’ve been here for one day and you expect me to know all the rules!? I just want to leave!” She retorted.

Ren’s head tilted. “Oh, you want to leave?” He asked. “Makes sense.” He hummed to himself as he uncrossed his arms and a hand went to his pocket, grabbing out a toothpick and sticking it into the mouth hole, biting down on it. “I know a way.” He hummed.

Makoto’s eyes widened at the thought of exiting this hellscape. “Wait—Y-You mean that… there’s a way out!?” She asked in a painfully optimistic tone—one that made Ren nearly blow his brains out on the spot.

He rolled his eyes and nodded. “Yes. Before dusk, the helicopter picks up one human and leaves. That person is brought out of the realm and returns home.” 

“Then what’re we waiting for?! Let’s go!” Makoto said triumphantly, ready to charge back out into the terrifying world she was now a part of. However, she stopped as she reached the first step and turned around, seeing Ren standing there, looking around. “Hello?”

“Hm?” He hummed as he turned around, crossing his arms. “Yeah, go.”

“You’re not coming?” She asked. “B-But I ordered you to come with.”

“I’m not your slave. I don’t have to abide by your every single command, nor do I want to.” He said with another roll of his eyes. 

“So… Why didn’t you leave earlier?” She asked, furrowing her brows. 

“I thought you knew something I didn’t. But you clearly don’t, so.” He said with a sigh, taking a look and analyzing his gloves.

Makoto’s eyes narrowed and she shook her head with a sigh. “Ugh.” She huffed out in frustration. He seriously wasn’t going to come with her? What an ungrateful prick! She should just shoot him dead right now on the spot. Why didn’t he leave earlier while she was asleep? Why did he even eat with her? Did he just use her for her food and supplies!? “You know what. Nevermind, I’ll find the helicopter myself and escape. I don’t need your help anyways.” 

Makoto turned and began up the stairs, a determined stare on her face as she reached the rooftop, holding a hand up to shade her eyes from the blinding daylight, heading towards the nearest building that she could see with a beacon on top of it. 

There were several of them, so that must’ve meant that the helicopter changed locations every single day. Which meant Makoto would need to pick up it’s pattern or simply get lucky—but if Makoto was here, just how lucky was she?

  
  


There was no time to dwell on luck and fate. Makoto had a job to do and that was to escape—She had to escape. She was  _ going  _ to escape.

As she crossed the first rope bridge, she could already hear scuttling and scrambling within the building. She drew her pistol and slowly scoured the rooftop, clearing it from enemies. She then turned her attention to the door leading down, slipping down the stairs as silent as possible, the scuffling growing louder—grunts and bangs coming from what sounded like a boy and a woman.

Makoto turned the corner and down the hallway she could see a tall, lanky man with the same smiling mask towering over a teenage boy who was about her age with stark blonde hair. Makoto shouted at the boy, who was maskless.

“Get down!” 

**_KYOOM!_ **

The first round she fired nailed the Mask square in the back of his shoulder, causing him to halt his struggle with the blonde boy and turn his attention to her. 

He was at least seven feet tall but he looked as thin as a twig and his bizarre physical stature made Makoto waver slightly. Her natural curiosity leading her to ask questions, shoot later.

_ ‘What… in the world?’ _

Suddenly the Mask burst towards her with a sudden explosion of energy, sprinting at speeds that she didn’t even know were possible to humans. Makoto yelped as she took aim and fired another shot, the Mask dodging the bullet and continuing his sprint towards her.

_ 10 meters. _

_ 5 meters. _

Sooner than the blink of an eye and faster than Makoto could pull the hammer of her revolver back down, he slammed into her, the kinetic force sending her flying back. She cried out in pain as her back slammed against the wall and she felt her breath completely disappear.

However, during the time the Mask was sprinting towards her, the blonde boy wasn’t idle. Short in pursuit, he was carrying a baseball bat. However—he was much slower than Twig Mask.

Makoto was kicked straight in the stomach which knocked her back down, her pistol clattering on the floor below her. 

“Hhhhhhhya!” The blonde boy screamed, charging up a heavy swing with the bat as he slammed it into Twig Mask’s side, a loud grunt eliciting from the hunter. He turned to face the blonde boy again and Makoto took the time to grab her pistol.

She stumbled down into a sitting position and turned around, pulling the hammer back as she took aim, the Mask turning slightly to look back at her.

The blonde boy charged up another swing and swung as hard as he could while Twig Mask was distracted and connected with his face as he turned around, sending the mask spinning into a one-eighty and facing back towards Makoto, who had a clear view of her head. 

**_KYOOM!_ **

The mask was penetrated by the bullet and Twig Mask fell forward, flopping on top of her, lifeless, spilling blood onto her shoulder. 

Makoto groaned and pushed him off of her and rolled to her side, trying to catch her breath.

The blonde boy huffed out a heavy sigh and hunched over, taking deep breaths as he looked at the girl. “T-Thanks for savin’ my ass.” He said as he hobbled over towards her. “I’m Ryuji, by the way.”

“M-Makoto.” She said, gulping in as much air as she possibly could as she sat up, sliding her back pack off of her shoulders and digging into it, grabbing out a box of bullets, loading three rounds into her revolver.

“Nice… to meet you, Makoto.” He said with a toothy grin. 

“Good to see you too, Ryuji.” She said, finally regaining her breath.

Ryuji sighed heavily and sat behind her, resting his head back against the wall and closing his eyes. “Any clue what this place is?”

Makoto shook her head. “No. I’ve only been here about a day.”

Ryuji huffed out a sigh. “For real? I’ve only been here for an hour or so.”

“Welcome to… my humble abode, then.” She said.

Ryuji turned to her, wide-eyed. “You… live here?!” 

Makoto rolled her eyes and shook her head. “No—I just told you I got here one day ago.” 

“Oh…”

Makoto put a palm to her face and sighed. “Anyways. I need to be going… I have my own mission I need to complete—Best of luck on your travels.” She finished as she stood up, brushing herself off. 

“H-Hey! Wait!” Ryuji exclaimed, standing up as well. “W-Where are you going?”

Makoto’s eyes narrowed. “The helicopter. But it only takes one, sorry. I have no room for any passengers, right now.” 

Ryuji sighed and frowned. “I see. Well… Any pointers?”

“Don’t attack the masks who are indifferent, they bring supplies. If you see a faceless mask, it’ll give you specific powers and abilities… Says your ‘closer to God’” Makoto paused for a moment. “And if you ever meet a Mask who carries a sniper rifle, wears a hat and a collared shirt with a vest? Kick him in the groin for me.” 

Ryuji chuckled at the last part and nodded, “Thanks—Good luck on your journey… I need to find my friend, anyways.” He said as he pulled out his phone, texting who Makoto had assumed was his friend.

“Right. Stay safe.” She said as she resumed back up the stairs. Another victory—but at the cost of a very painful ringing in her ears. 

In the distance, she heard the sound of a single rifle bullet being fired.

_ ‘Ren.’ _

* * *

He hummed as chewed on his toothpick, walking with both hands in his pockets as he came to the edge of the building, standing with his toes peeking over the sudden drop. 

Ren sighed as he stared down at the ground and pondered in silence for a moment. Wondering about who he was, when did he get here, why did he put on the mask, what even was the place he came from, where is he now?

He hummed as he took a few steps back and dropped off of the barrier, walking towards a rope bridge with his hands still in his pockets, hearing the sound of a distant revolver going off. Then, another round. Followed by silence.

Wincing slightly, he turned his head in the direction. It was the girl. Maybe she just died… Lost her life, so soon. Then, his thoughts were interrupted by another gunshot. Something in him told him that she was in fact, still alive. Very much so. 

Ren hummed as he turned around and decided to head in that direction—who knows, possibly it’d provide some answers and entertainment for him.

Along his path, he came across another mask, one dressed in holy robes, carrying a crowbar; the two of them walking right past each other. Ren knew something was fundamentally wrong—he felt something trigger in his brain that he was in grave danger. 

The other mask turned around and lunged towards Ren with a crowbar, ready to bring it down upon his skull from behind. But Ren was much too quick as he turned around, unslinging his rifle and swinging it by the barrel to slam it into the Mask’s side with the buttstock of his gun, using it like a baseball bat. 

Pryer Mask was sent flying off to the side, but quickly skidded to his feet and sprinted right back at Ren, running at a high speed as he lunged once again towards Ren.

Once again, Ren outclassed the Pryer Mask once more and side-stepped the lunge, swinging his gun once more like a bat and uppercutting the assaulter, nearly causing him to do a backflip as he slammed into the ground, landing on his neck. 

Ren did a spin away from the downed Mask to create distance between himself and the foe, adjusting his grip on the gun, carrying it in one hand with his finger around the trigger and the barrel pointed at Pryer Mask.

Without a second's hesitation, he pulled.

**_KPEW!_ **

**_CHKCHK!_ **

Ren sighed heavily and slung the rifle over his shoulder, nibbling on the toothpick that was still in his mouth that he had from the before the fight even started. It’d have been a waste to lose it. 

However, Ren still couldn’t get over the girl—she was alive and he knew it. 

_ ‘Think… If I were her, what would I do? I have a good head on my shoulders and I know my only escape is the helicopter. I would… learn it’s landing pattern and prepare to catch it a day early.’ _

That was precisely it. He hummed and nodded, clearly proud of himself as he tucked his hands in his pockets and began walking, stepping over the corpse of Pryer Mask. “Tch.” He scoffed as he looked down at him. “Now I gotta deal with you guys, too?” 

* * *

**_A:_ ** _ Ryuji? What’s going on?! _

**_R:_ ** _ I don’t know. Apparently we’re in a realm with others though, I just met someone else. _

**_A:_ ** _ Were they friendly? _

**_R:_ ** _ Sort of. _

**_A:_ ** _ What do you mean, sort of?! _

**_R:_ ** _ She decided to roll solo after I offered to work together. She said she didn’t have room for a passenger :P _

**_A:_ ** _ Right… Well at least she didn’t kill you. _

**_R:_ ** _ Yep! _

**_A:_ ** _ Alright, where are you? _

**_R:_ ** _ I’m on some sort of skyscraper that appears to be all black and it’s right beside a really tall, circly one. _

**_A:_ ** _ Got it. I’ll be there by sundown, I see which building it is. Be safe. _

**_R:_ ** _ You too, Ann. _

Ryuji sighed heavily as he set his phone down, resting his head back on the wall.

After his experience with Twig Mask, he had decided to hunker down in one of the rooms of the building, just to get some rest and to think about what was going on. It was as soon as he woke up here, he got a call from Ann who told him what he needed to do to survive, but then while he was exploring, trying to find safety, he was attacked by the aforementioned mask.

“Jeez… This sucks.” He said to himself as he rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. 

He was going to continue his thoughts until he heard footsteps. 

_ ‘Ann?!’ _

No… It was way too quick for that to be her. She said by sundown. But Ryuji couldn’t help but look out as well.

He stood up with his bat in hand, looking out the doorway to see a man with black, frizzy hair and a cap, dressed in a black overcoat and a sniper rifle over his shoulder. 

_ ‘That’s the guy Makoto told me about! But he’s wearing a mask?!’ _

Ryuji must’ve accidentally made some sort of sound because the masked man turned towards him, his rifle drawn and aimed directly at his head. Ryuji taking notice of how his mask was cracked.

“Woah!” Ryuji exclaimed as he ducked behind cover, but he didn’t hear a shot. Instead, he heard a sigh and footsteps approaching him. As they got closer, Ryuji readied his grip on the bat and as they sounded just next to him, he yelled as he began his swing, but suddenly he was stopped.

“Huh!?” Ryuji turned around to see his bat had gotten caught on the doorframe and he turned to look at the Overcoat Mask, who was standing there with his hands in his pockets, just staring at him.

“Easy there, slugger.” The masked man said, his rifle slung over his shoulder. 

“Y-You talk?” Ryuji asked, lowering his bat and exiting out into the hallway.

The mask tilted his head and then shrugged “Ever since a girl roundhoused me in the face, I’ve been learning lots of new things again.” 

_ A girl!?  _ “You mean Ann?!” He said excitedly, so much so that it reminded Ren of that time he wanted to die due to the brunette girl’s optimism.

The mask responded flatly, “Is that her name?” 

“Was she blonde?” Ryuji asked.

The mask shook his head. “Brunette. Bobcut.”

“Oh! You mean Makoto!” 

_ ‘Makoto…’ _

Ren repeated the name in his head, uttering under his breath. “What a lovely, lovely name.” 

Ryuji raised a brow. “What was that?” 

The mask looked up and shook his head. “Nothing.”

“Hmph…” 

“Well, bud. Want to survive and help me out with something?” The masked man asked.

Ryuji crossed his arms and thought for a moment. “Well… If it means I have a way to survive, then sure.” He said as he extended a hand to shake. “I’m Ryuji, by the way.

The masked man took his hand and shook it. “Ren.”

“Oh, by the way… I’m sorry, Ren.” Ryuji said as he readied up his leg, reeling it back. 

“Wha—?”

**_THWOMP!_ **

_ “AGH!”  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all, I hope you’re enjoying the series thus far. I’ve been slaving over trying to make it somewhat enjoyable whilst simultaneously avoiding on giving you guys the instant gratification of Shumako.
> 
> A fine line to walk indeed!
> 
> But thank you so much for reading <3 any and all feedback is greatly appreciated, positive or negative! Also, let me know what you’ve been enjoying thus far in the story and what’s been a miss. I’m really experimenting with a lot here so c:
> 
> Hope you all have a wonderful days and once again, thank you for reading :)


	5. Tower Six

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After three long days, Makoto is finally beginning to understand the patterns of her escape. All she needs to do is make it to Tower Six.

**_Day 5_ **

Makoto sighed heavily as she slumped down and lied against a wall, her breathing ragged and her backpack nearly empty of all resources. She had nearly exhausted all of her food during her egregious journey to discover the helicopter’s path. However, her efforts were not in complete vain. She did pick up and learn that there were in fact ten buildings with helipads atop of them that the helicopter would land at, ones that she had each labeled with a number in her head. 

_ ‘One, three, five, two, four.’  _

She thought to herself as she looked down at the revolver in her hands, nearly out of bullets as she had been in quite a few engagements as of recently. However, in all of her encounters with the masks—they didn’t seem to care that she was ‘closer to God’ or that she was able to take control and disable the commands of the mask, forcing her to fight her way out each time.

Makoto heard footsteps to her left and she gripped the gun tightly, pulling the hammer back as she tightened her lips and stood up, taking aim at the corner, waiting for someone to reel their head around the corner, her finger readily on the trigger.

A pair of blonde pigtails poked out from the side of the wall and a girl dressed in a similar uniform stepped out afterwards. “Don’t shoot!” She yelled as she put her hands out. “I don’t want a fight!” 

Makoto lowered her gun slightly and looked at the girl. “What’s your name?” She asked, clearly untrusting and suspicious of the new face.

“Ann! Ann Takamaki!” The girl repeated, as her posture remained in it’s very defensive state. Her back was slightly hunched, her hands outstretched and in front of her. 

Makoto hummed and holstered her revolver. “I’m Makoto.” She said with a sigh as she leaned against the wall.

_ ‘If this is what Ren had to deal with for however long… I’m starting to understand his decision.’  _

Ann’s posture straightened and she smiled, lowering her hands. “Nice to meet you, Makoto!” She said as she walked towards the brunette-haired girl, leaning on the wall beside her. “Say—Did you meet a boy with blonde hair? Very loud, can be a little bit of a doofus sometimes?”

Makoto thought for a moment, something she had been doing too much of. But it was usually about how to survive and about the future—never the past five days. But the description did fit one person, Ryuji. “Yes, what about him?” 

“Oh, that’s good to know he is still okay and alive!” She said with a sigh of relief. Ann raised her hands above her head and let out a groan as she stretched for the first time in what felt like forever. “We’re supposed to meet each other today at that building.” She said, pointing to a tall, skinny skyscraper. 

Makoto traced her finger to the building and her eyes lit up slightly. “Well. Luck has it, that’s where I’m going.” It was building six that Ann was heading to—and based on the pattern, it seemed to be where the helicopter would be going next. 

“We move together, then!” Ann said cheerily, an optimistic tone in her voice that now made Makoto—who shared that same determination and motivation just a few days prior—want to shoot herself. 

Makoto sighed. “Wait.” She huffed out as she went down to take a seat. “Do you have any food? I haven’t eaten in a day.” 

Ann nodded. “O-Of course! Here!” She said as she quickly swung her backpack off of her back and unzipped it, grabbing out what looked like an MRE. She handed it to Makoto, who eagerly opened it up and began to eat it, clearly showing she hadn’t eaten in twenty-four hours. “Slow down. You’ll get sick.”

Makoto hadn’t had the thought process or time to show prim and proper manners, but she sighed and finished her bite, exhaling slowly. “Sorry… I sometimes just forget how hungry I am and I never know until I begin eating.” She said before taking another bite, beginning to eat much slower and at a much healthier pace.

“So. How long have you been here?” Ann asked.

“Five days.” Makoto responded, sighing softly at the relief as she filled her empty stomach in between bites.

“I see.” Ann responded. “For me it’s only been four.” 

Makoto nodded and rested her head back on the wall, closing her eyes. Not only was she hungry, she was also physically and mentally exhausted and needed to sleep. “M-Mind covering me… While I sleep for an hour or so?” 

Ann blinked a few times in confusion before nodding with a grin. “Don’t worry.” 

Makoto had no clue why she was putting her trust in a stranger, but she was beyond the point of coherently thinking as she dozed off and her head fell to the side, whisking her away into a quick and deep sleep.

* * *

“So, where did your friend say to meet them?” Ren asked as he trailed Ryuji, his rifle over his shoulder as his thoughts began to wander off again.

_ ‘I haven’t heard the commands of the mask in quite some time again….’  _

The thought was scary to him, why was it so silent? Was it waiting to open back up and strike at the optimal time? Ren shuddered at the thought as he had made quite a decent connection with the boy who was in front of him. They seemed to be quite good friends given how they met in such a realm—one of the two of them being the antagonizers that occupied the realm. 

“Hello?” Ryuji waved in front of Ren, snapping him back to attention.

“Yeah… Sorry, what?” He responded awkwardly.

“I said we’re meeting there just before dusk.” He hummed, pointing at a building that was at least a mile or two away from them. 

Ren nodded slowly. “Understood. It’s one of the helicopter landing zones, though. We sure it’s going to be safe?” 

Ryuji shrugged. “Who knows. And even if it isn’t—I’ve got you to watch my back!” He said with a big, toothy smile. “I’ve seen the crap you can do with that gun.” 

Ren shrugged and let out an awkward hum. He was never one for compliments—especially something like his marksmanship skills from the past… however long it had been… he’d been using it to torment and inflict damage and death upon innocent people. 

“Well. We have about…” Ren hummed, rolling up the sleeve of his overcoat, checking his watch before beginning to walk. “One and a half hours. Let’s go.” Ren said, noting mentally that they’d be a bit late to this reunion between Ryuji and his best friend Ann.

_ ‘I wonder how Makoto is doing… By now—if she’s even alive—she may have the majority of the pattern down. Which would mean she may be at this building we’re rendezvousing at.’ _

It was an enticing thought, being able to see Makoto again—but Ren found himself questioning why. 

_ Why did he care? _

It had to have been the connection her mask made with his—nothing more or nothing less. 

Ren sighed audibly as he adjusted his coat, holding onto the lapels of it as they crossed another rope bridge, going one building at a time towards their objective. 

_ Tower Six _ .

* * *

Makoto woke up, blinking a few times and immediately shooting up. Over the past five days, she had learned to wake up rather alert and on guard—especially since the last time she woke up in someone’s company, it was a mask.

_ ‘Ren.’ _

“Looks like you’re awake!” Ann said, leaning against the edge, her backpack on her shoulder and a small candy bar in her hand that she was nibbling on. 

“How long was I asleep for?” Makoto asked, reaching down and grabbing her backpack.

“About two, three hours.” Ann responded.

Makoto’s eyes widened as she heard how long she was under. “Three hours!?” She exclaimed as she looked towards the building they needed to make it to. “How much time do we have left!?” 

“Until what?”

“Dusk! Until dusk!” Makoto said, clearly getting agitated and stressed out. She could  _ not  _ miss that helicopter. 

“We have about an hour or so.” Ann said, standing up off of the wall. “So, let’s not waste time. We’re not far from the building.”

Makoto sighed as she heard how much time they had left. It was enough. “Alright. Let’s get going.” She said as she stepped onto one of the bridges, the swaying and wobbliness becoming just another thing to her. She had simply crossed way too many by now to be afraid of moving across them. 

Soon, the two of them had reached the building just before dusk had approached. However, Makoto could sense something was wrong as she heard shuffling and walking. 

Makoto quietly gestured to Ann behind her, waving her hand to tell her to stay close. They snuck around the edge of the building, not seeing anyone as they quickly and silently slipped into the door. Their goal now was to make it to the roof, but to get there without alerting anyone and preferably in one piece.

As they entered the now eerily silent hallways, she could see that the structure of the building was that the hallways all faced windows looking outwards towards the skyline, while the rooms and such were in the center of the building, leaving practically no room for cover.

Ann drew out a whip from her bag and held it firmly in her hand, clasping tightly as she rested a hand on Makoto’s back, letting her know that she was still right behind her.

Soon, the sign signalling that a stairway was upcoming was hanging on a wall and Makoto, finding a new determination as she realized she was so close. That is—until all optimism was whisked away as she turned the corner and saw four masks all grouped up at the base of the stairs, a pile of corpses beneath them. She took a deep breath as she turned and looked at Ann, mouthing the words.  _ ‘Four Masks!’ _

Ann nodded in acknowledgement. It seemed she was game for trying to take them on. 

Each Mask had a didn’t outfit and weapon of choice. One of them wore a tuxedo while there was a female mask dressed in a wedding gown. The one with the tuxedo wielding a kitchen knife and the bride wielding a pair of knives, one in each hand. The third was wearing an all black jumpsuit and wore a fur cap, wielding a meat cleaver’s blade, which was coated in blood. The last Mask wore a police uniform and his weapon of choice was a police baton. 

  
  


Makoto huffed out a sigh and turned the corner, pulling out her revolver and firing a round directly into the Officer Mask’s chest.

In the blink of an eye, the Mask’s turned their attention and were sprinting directly towards Makoto, who fired another bullet, the round striking the Groom Mask’s blade, deflecting off of it and hitting his shoulder—however, his charge didn’t stop. 

Makoto turned back behind cover as Ann stepped out, swinging her whip, a loud crack from the force of the weapon being used. One of the Mask’s was staggered and stopped dead in their tracks, it appeared to be the Bride Mask. And so, Ann continued her attack on her, thrashing and slashing the Bride Mask as she attempted to defend herself.

Ann saw out of the corner of her eye, the Groom’s mask leap into the air towards her, his blade coming straight for her face—but he was blown back by the sound of a revolver shot. Ann turned for a second and saw Makoto with her pistol in hands, aimed and ready to fire another round.

For the time being, it seemed as if Groom, Bride, and Officer mask were all out of commission. All that was left was the Athlete Mask, who began to sprint at them with his cleaver covering his face to protect from bullets. 

Ann cracked her whip again towards him, but unlike the Bride, he stepped aside and let it slam against the ground as he grabbed it tightly—tugging on it and ripping Ann his way, slamming into her with his shoulder.

The blonde girl yelped as she was sent skidding back, flat on her ass.

Makoto watched as she pulled the hammer down and took aim at the stampeding mask, pulling the trigger. 

**_KYOOM!_ **

He deflected the bullet with his balde, continuing his sprint.

**_click_ **

**_KYOOM!_ **

Another deflection.

**_click_ **

**_KYOOM!_ **

That round landed in his arm, but it didn’t slow him.

**_click_ **

**_CHK!_ **

_ ‘Shit…’ _

Makoto needed to reload but her last round was in her backpack and she certainly didn’t have time to grab it and load it. She readied herself into a fighting position and swung her leg out, trying to time it perfectly with the Mask entering her range. But he read her like a book and caught her ankle out of midair and brought up his own leg, straight-kicking Makoto in the stomach and sending her slamming into the glass window, the glass cracking and nearly shattering behind her. 

She screamed in pain and hunched over—gasping for air as she held tightly onto her stomach. Out of the top of her vision, she could see Athlete Mask charging her, ready to slam his knee into her face. She moved out of the way last second, the Mask slamming his knee into the glass and shattering it, all of the shards flying out and to the long fall below. 

Makoto still needed to catch her breath and she crawled as far as possible away from the window as possible. But the Mask was soon on her, grabbing her ankles and dragging her slowly. Makoto screamed and kicked and clawed, but to no avail. 

She suddenly felt her foot get released as she heard two people grunting in a struggle. Makoto turned and there she saw, clad in a black overcoat and dapper attire; Ren, strangling the Athlete mask with his rifle, the Mask doing his best to fight off the new assaulter. 

“Reload and fire!” Ren barked out towards Makoto, who sat there stunned for a moment, her eyes wide. 

Ren took an elbow to the gut and gasped, but he clung on tighter. “Makoto!” He screamed again. “You want to catch that helicopter, don’t you!?”

The usage of her name sparked her back to reality and the words afterwards invigorated a fire within her. She crawled towards her gun that was on the ground and slung her backpack off of her back, scrambling through to grab the box of bullets. Pulling only one out and sliding it into the chamber, aiming it at the two Masks who were now struggling.

However—Makoto froze at their positioning as she saw Ren and Athlete Mask were both dangerously close to falling out of the window, Athlete Mask purposefully backpedaling so that Ren was the one leaning out of the window. 

“Shoot!” Ren screamed once more as he held onto his rifle for dear life while Athlete Mask held out both arms to clutch onto the metal beams that held the windows in place.

Makoto hesitated yet again. “But you’ll fall too!” She screamed in response.

“Just shoot, damnit!” He screamed once again.

* * *

As they first joined in on the fight that the girl’s were taking a part of, Ren noticed that the battle was mostly over. Just one Mask left.

“Ryuji—tend to the blonde girl. I’ll handle the Mask.” He said as he sprinted towards the Mask that was dragging Makoto.

Ryuji nodded and ran to Ann, sliding beside her as he grabbed her hand. “Ann!” He yelled, only getting a groan in response from the half-conscious girl. But she was still alive. “Oh geez, thank god!” He said as he began to look up and down her body to check for any wounds, aside from the purple bruise on the left side of her jaw. 

Ryuji sighed softly and pulled Ann into a tight hug, unaware of the other situation that was happening as he was just thankful she was alive. “I’m so glad you’re okay…” 

“R-Ryuji?” She asked tiredly in response. “Is that… you?”

“Yeah, Ann. I’m here for ya!” He said as he pulled back from the hug, a big toothy grin on his face. “I finally found you!” 

Ann returned his smile, getting ready to speak until she was interrupted.

**_KYOOM!_ **

Both Ryuji and Ann turned to look at what the gunshot was, Ryuji letting out a yell as he began to run for the broken window as both Ren and the Athlete Mask were falling out of it. 

  
  


* * *

  
  


Makoto clenched her eyes tightly and took a deep breath, pulling the trigger.

**_KYOOM!_ **

_ “No!”  _

Makoto heard a boy shout as she opened her eyes, seeing both of the men who were in the empty window frame were now gone. She gasped and she dropped the gun, her hands covering her mouth as tears began to welt in her eyes. 

She just murdered the first person she had ever met in this realm and that had saved her life  _ twice. _

_ Despair filled Makoto as she began to tremble uncontrollably.  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uh oh... Major character death warning is there for a reason.
> 
> I wonder what it could mean?


	6. Consequences

**_Day 5_ **

The sound of a helicopter hummed above the group of three as they all stood shocked. Makoto, on her knees and trembling. Ryuji standing halfway in the hallway, his eyes wide and his hand outstretched from when he attempted to grab Ren. And finally, Ann standing there confused as to who that was and what even happened.

Ryuji then noticed something as he inched closer towards the window, a hand that was clinging onto the bottom of the frame and a small blood pool surrounding it. His eyes widened as his pace picked up and he slid on his knees to the edge, peering over and seeing Ren hanging from the building with one arm, his other hand by limp and holding his rifle’s strap. 

“H-Holy crap! You’re… You’re alive!” Ryuji shouted in utter shock.

Makoto’s ears perked up as she looked up at Ryuji who was leaning out the window, talking to someone. 

“Y-Yeah! Not for long if you don’t help me up!” Ren said, his voice guttural and gritty as he was in quite a good amount of pain.

“R-Right.” Ryuji said as he leaned over, grabbing tightly onto Ren’s arm, finally noticing the broken shards of glass that were remaining of the window had been stabbing and cutting into his hand as he was holding tightly for his life. 

Soon, Ren was able to toss his gun over the edge and onto the floor, his second arm allowing him to clamber up onto the stable floor. He rolled onto his back and groaned in pain as he lay there for a few moments, his right arm resting on his chest while his left rested on his right shoulder, pressing against it as blood oozed out the wound. 

Makoto’s eyes widened and she stood up and walked towards Ren, still trembling and traumatized from what had just happened. “Y-You’re… hurt” Makoto said, a crack in her voice.

_ Why did she care so damn much about him? The only reason he didn’t kill her was because of the mask. _

That was it! The mask had made a connection between them—that’s what was causing this grief within Makoto. At least, that was how she rationalized it as she rested a hand on Ren’s. 

“D-Don’t you got a helicopter to catch?” Ren asked.

Makoto hesitated for a moment as she looked down the hallway towards the staircase, seeing Ann approaching the three of them, still confused and very understandably mortified.

“I-Is that a Mask?” Ann asked shyly.

Makoto and Ryuji nodded. “Yeah—But he’s… different.” Makoto said.

She wasn’t exactly ready to disclose what had happened between her and Ren—how she put on a mask and became some form of authority within this realm. But her head came back to the idea of the helicopter—she could leave right now. 

_ ‘Leave?’ _

Ren had just nearly sacrificed his life for her sake and it was the second time he saved her. There was no way she could leave him after such acts—especially considering that he had most likely been following her tracks or at the very least attempted to. Did he care?

Soon her trembling eased up a bit and she sighed as she looked down at Ren. “I’m not leaving until I pay you back in full.” 

Ren groaned and gently rested his head back down on the flood. “I’m… shocked you have survived five days.” 

Makoto’s eyes narrowed as she looked at him—he was making it really difficult to pity him whenever he talked like that. Wait—that was it. She sighed as she stood up, “Ryuji, you and Ann go find yourselves a room or something to rest in for tonight. I’ll stay with Ren and tend to his wounds.” 

Ryuji looked over at Ann and sighed softly. “Alright. Sounds good.” He said as he stood up and walked towards Ann, walking away with her—the two of them exchanging whispers and such as they walked out of the audible range of Makoto. 

Makoto looked back down at Ren and huffed out a sigh. “Alright. I know a tough-guy act when I see one. Let’s go.” She said, hooking her arm underneath his and around his back. She slowly stood him up and began walking him towards a door to her left, opening it up and entering a meeting office. 

Ren’s vision was growing quite hazy as the adrenaline slowly began to wear off and his body ached in pain as Makoto laid him down on his back on the table in the center of the room. 

Makoto huffed out a sigh in frustration as she realized she forgot her backpack back in the hallway, turning around and leaving the room to retrieve it.

_ “Ha….” _ Ren exhaled as he stared up at the spiraling roof above him. His shoulder was in a burning, agonizing pain while his hands still bled and stung. But through the pain, Ren sighed softly and began to think.

_ ‘Why is… she staying?’  _

He pondered the thought for a moment.

_ ‘She’s staying to tend to my wounds? Why isn’t she escaping? What are you doing, Makoto! Get out!’ _

Ren groaned in frustration as he lightly banged the back of his head against the table, his breathing was erratic and hoarse. 

_ ‘You’re not going to die in this place ’cause of me.’ _

Ren began to sit up, getting ready to leave the place and somehow find a way to sneak out, until Makoto burst back into the room.

“What’re you doing? Lay back down.” She ordered, her voice now cold and stern. A huge difference from earlier.

Ren sighed and laid back down, taking a look at her before he did so. While her voice showed off stoicism, her eyes spelled fear, worry, and anguish.

Makoto swung her backpack onto the table and opened it, pulling out the medkit as she climbed on top of the desk, kneeling beside him as she began to work on the clothing blocking the wound, starting with his cap and mask, just to allow him to get some fresh air. Then, she worked on inching his overcoat out down his body and off of his arms with some awkward position adjustments from Ren, eliciting pain-filled groans.

Next, was his tie and vest. She slid off his Galco which carried a handgun in it and she set it aside. She unbuttoned the vest and revealed more of his white, collared shirt that was beginning to soak red from blood and once again with painfully awkward movements, slipped it off of him. Finally, it was the buttoned shirt, she unbuttoned it, revealing his bare skin beneath it—his strong and lithe figure becoming apparent to her as her face began to grow more red by each passing second.

_ ‘Oh no… He’s attractive.’  _

She finally got the shirt out of the way and she took his collared shirt using it to clean the blood that was spilling out of the bullet wound in his shoulder. She reached over his body and pulled on him, tilting him so she could see if the bullet had exited his body. 

_ It didn’t. _

Makoto sighed as she looked at Ren, who was in clear pain just from the look on his face. It was only going to get worse. “Ren. Would you rather have a headache or try to stay conscious while I pull the bullet out?”

“I-If you… knock me unconscious—I’m going to be very upset. Just ge-get it over with.” 

Makoto nodded and opened up the medical kit, grabbing out a pair of tweezers and a bottle of rubbing alcohol. She opened the top of the bottle, and splashed some of it over the wound, Ren reacting violently to the pain, his body tensing up. 

Makoto bit her lip in guilt as she pushed him back down against the desk, her hand wrapping tightly around his bicep, pinning it down to the desk in order to try and keep his shoulder as still as possible. 

As she began to dig for the bullet inside of him, he let out a painful scream and groaned shortly afterwards.

It was going to be a long and egregious process.

* * *

  
  


**_Day 5, Nighttime_ **

The entire operation had probably taken an hour, but eventually, with enough screaming and trial and error, Makoto finally figured out how to deal with a bullet wound.

She only knew what she knew from Yakuza movies she used to watch when she was home with her sister.

_ ‘Sae.’ _

Her heart hurt as she thought about home. Since the operation had been complete, Ren and her relocated to a different room, one that was a bit cozier. It was like a small living space, a couch and desk being present in the room. But that was the only furniture that was present in the room. 

All of Ren’s things lay on the desk and the two of them sat down on the couch, staring forward at the wall with blank stairs. 

**_Knock! knock! knock!_ **

Ren’s head perked and shot towards the doorway, his eyes narrowing as he looked at Makoto who was already up, revolver in hand. 

Makoto inched towards the doorway, swinging the door open as she drew her pistol, no one standing in the doorway but instead there was a backpack at her feet.  _ Supplies! _

Makoto hastily reached down and grabbed the pack, standing back up and slipping back into the room, shutting the door.

She turned back to Ren and walked beside him, sitting down, digging through the contents of the bag—pulling out snacks, MREs, and other types of food and drinks. 

Makoto sighed in relief at the sight of food. But something inside of her was wrong. It felt as if a furious storm was building up in her head and a massive pressure began to build up in her chest. 

Ren had noticed she’d gone pale and her hands began to shake as they held tightly onto the backpack. “Hey… Are you okay?” He asked, a serious and cold tone to his voice.

Makoto looked at him and hummed. “Y-Yeah!” She said, a hitch in her voice as it cracked. She began to quake uncontrollably, her whole body beginning to shake as she was on the verge of tears.

Ren looked at her and narrowed his eyes. “No. Answer me. Are you okay?” He asked again.

Makoto nodded, taking deep and slow breaths in attempts to calm herself down.

“Are you okay?” He asked one final time.

Finally, the dam was breached and she broke down into tears, burying her face in her hands as tears began to flow down her cheeks and she sobbed, her breath catching constantly. She coughed, wailed, and vented out all of her emotions.

Visions of all the death, the blood, and the Masks began to flood into her mind as she trembled, wailing uncontrollably. Why did she have to be taken to such a cruel and awful place? Why did it have to be her? 

“I-I don’t want to be here! Why am I here!? Why is there so much death!? Why can’t I unsee them!? Why is everything so terrible!? Why do I even have to exist here!? Why shouldn’t I just shoot myself right now!? Why!? Why!?” She bursted out as she curled her knees in towards her chest, wrapping her arms tightly around her legs as she continued her breakdown.

Ren sat idly by, quiet and in shock as she began to let loose. But it made sense—she had only shown up five days ago and this was a lot to take on. He wasn’t joking when he said he was shocked she survived this long. He awkwardly slid himself toward her, resting his good hand on her shoulder—his other one tightly wrapped in bandages.

Makoto felt his touch and yearned for any sort of affection—just the touch of another human that wasn’t trying to murder her. She turned and released her shielded position, hugging herself against him, the side of her face pressing itself against his bare chest, her arms wrapping tightly around his stomach.

Ren’s eyes widened as she embraced him and he just awkwardly sat there, his mind beginning race as well. He took deep breaths to try and remain calm, but that was proving to be quite difficult. He went to wrap his arms around her to provide comfort, but a painful jolt shot through his head, but he tried his hardest not to react to it.

_ ‘Affection—an unnecessary emotion—has been temporarily disabled in order to provide maximum efficiency and reduce chances of error among Masks.’  _

The mechanical voice finally returned. He sighed softly and his arms rested at his sides, a sad and defeated look on his face as he was forced to sit and just watch Makoto breakdown in front of him. 

**Author's Note:**

> So, I caved. I watched High-Rise Invasion and damn did it seem like a really fun thing to have my own take on... And who better than our favorite P5 crew to explore this cruel, twisted universe? 
> 
> Hopefully I can lead you all on with some mysteries and keep you all reading since well... I got a pretty good feeling about this one! Hope you enjoyed~ I will try and update as regularly as possible.


End file.
